Local News - Issue 227

Manyisa Yet To Extend
Pirates Stay With Downs Offer Looming

Oupa Manyisa’s future remains hanging as he is yet to sign a
new contract at Orlando Pirates – eight months before his current deal expires.
In the meantime, Mamelodi Sundowns is hovering in the horizon, waiting to
snap up Manyisa and hand him a five-year contract that will move him into the
bracket of the top five earners in the PSL – a list which currently has three
Brazilian players and two from Kaizer Chiefs. Pirates boss Irvin Khoza is
handling this matter on behalf of the club. Manyisa can only start ‘officially’
talking to other clubs in January when he enters the last six months of his
contract.

Lethola Mofokeng has
signed for Bloemfontein Celtic. ‘Kanu’, who previously played for Phunya
Sele Sele, confirms that he has penned a one-year deal with an option for a
further two years. The 29-year-old from Bethlehem in the Free State has also
represented Jomo Cosmos and Black Leopards. Mofokeng scored a hat-trick in 13
minutes for Celtic when they beat Polokwane City 3-1 during the Multichoice
Diski Challenge match at Siwelele Park on Saturday. Celtic have also confirmed
the signing of former Roses United attacking midfielder Paulos Kgadi following
a request by head coach Ernst Middendorp for the management to recruit more
attacking players.

Orlando Pirates and
Mamelodi Sundowns are chasing the signature of Black Leopards midfielder
Siphelele Ntshangase. Leopards already lost Edgar Manaka to Platinum Stars
in August, and now could find it hard to hang on to Ntshangase, who was one of
their star performers last term. According to a source close to the player,
Bucs and Downs are keeping a close eye on Ntshangase. "There is huge
interest from both Pirates and Sundowns," says the source. "Chippa
United were the first to show interest but it's obvious they can't compete with
both Pirates and Sundowns.

AmaZulu assistant
coach Wilfred Mugeyi will be in charge of all the club's training sessions
while head coach Craig Rosslee is still in the doldrums. Usuthu's directors
released a statement last Friday announcing Mugeyi would supervise the crucial
Telkom Knockout match against Bloemfontein Celtic. They said Rosslee had been
sidelined “due to a poor run of form and security reasons”. After the Durban
outfit won the thrilling encounter 3-2 against Celtic, PRO and communications
manager Philani Mabaso gave the latest update on Rosslee's situation. “Nothing
has changed regarding the released statements from last week,” Mabaso said.
“Mugeyi is still in charge of the team until further notice. He will take
charge of all the training sessions while we are waiting for the club directors
to get back to us regarding the matter.” Beleaguered AmaZulu are the only side
without a win in the Absa Premiership this season. They will next host Chippa
United in the League on 18 October. A group of AmaZulu fans took their
unhappiness about under-fire coach Craig Rosslee to another level after
marching into the club's training ground last week. Several fans went into the
team training and voiced their unhappiness about Roslee and told general
manager Peter O'Connor and Lunga Sokhela that they want the club to get rid of
Rosslee.

Tiyani Mabunda is now
free to play for Free State Stars after sorting out his issues with Mamelodi
Sundowns. The former Black Leopards midfielder had been training with Stars
for the past few weeks, but was unable to play for Ea Lla Koto due to
undisclosed issues with the Brazilians. Mabunda trained with Mpumalanga Black
Aces before travelling down to Bethlehem to join Stars in what reported as a
loan deal from Sundowns. Stars coach Tom Saintfiet has confirmed that has since
been given the green light by club management to field the player.

Bafana Bafana defender Anele Ngcongca is likely to miss the
Afcon qualifier against Congo on Saturday due to injury. According
to the team’s media officer Matlhomola Morake all players have arrived in camp
except for Ngcongca, who plays his club football for RKC Genk in Belgium.
“According to his club, he is injured but we are still trying to get more
details,” he says. Ngcongca played for Genk in their 0-0 draw at Anderlecht
over the past weekend and as it stands, Safa will be in touch with Genk to
establish the nature of Ngcongca’s injury.

KaizerChiefs’ amazing start to the season of a
dozen consecutive wins has seen them equal Mamelodi Sundowns' record for the
longest domestic winning streak in South African history. Chiefs’
magnificent run of 12 wins in a row this season, during which they have scored
21 goals and conceded just twice, has ushered them into the best winning spell
in all local competitions since the start of the modern day PSL in August,
1996. Amakhosi have equalled the record set by Sundowns, who put together 14
successive wins in domestic PSL competitions between January 13 and February
28, 2007 – although their overall winning run including continental
competitions got a slight dent when they were held to a one-all draw by
Desportivo Maputo in Mozambique in a first-leg, first-round CAF Champions
League tie. Despite that draw in Maputo, Sundowns still managed to stretch
their unbeaten run to 19 games and during that period they won 11 League games
in a row, won another three Champions League matches (two draws) and had three
more victories in the Absa Cup. That 11-game winning spell in the league –
which came under the guidance of Gordon Igesund – set the Brazilians on course
to winning the Absa Premiership title at the end of the 2006/07 season, winning
games against Orlando Pirates, Chiefs, SuperSport United and Moroka Swallows
during that impressive run. It remains the longest consecutive winning run in
the league since the start of the PSL. Sundowns won 10 league games in a row
last season on their way to lifting their sixth League title, while Chiefs
racked up nine consecutive wins in the same season before their 2013/14 title
chase petered out. However, Chiefs now hold the record of being the first club
in South African top-flight football to win 12 consecutive games in all official
competitions in a single PSL season.

Longest Unbeaten Run19 matches – Mamelodi Sundowns, 2006/07

Longest Domestic
Winning Run

14 matches – Mamelodi Sundowns, 2006/07 & Kaizer Chiefs,
2014/15

Longest Winning Run
in a Single Season12 matches – Kaizer Chiefs, 2014/15

Longest Winning Run
in League
11 matches – Mamelodi Sundowns, 2006/07

Kaizer Chiefs
will host holders Platinum Stars in the Telkom Knockout quarter-finals, while
Orlando Pirates will entertain Ajax Cape Town. In the other ties,
Absa Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns will welcome struggling AmaZulu,
and Bidvest Wits will face visiting SuperSport United. The PSL decided the
match-ups via a draw on Monday, with the fixtures originally set for the
weekend of 25 October. The League, however, are yet to confirm dates and
venues.

TKO last-eight
fixtures:Kaizer Chiefs vs Platinum StarsOrlando Pirates vs Ajax Cape TownMamelodi Sundowns vs AmaZuluBidvest Wits vs SuperSport United
Bloemfontein Celtic are set to part ways with their head coach Ernst Middendorp
following the club’s loss in the Telkom Knockout over the weekend. Phunya
Sele Sele were knocked out in the last 16 by AmaZulu on Saturday at Princess
Magogo Stadium and according to a source, the German’s time at Celtic is up.
“Celtic’s management is fed up because remember it is not just about losing to
AmaZulu. It is also about the fact that Celtic have won just one match out of
seven in the league and the team is in 14th position,” the source revealed.
According to some reports, former Celtic coach Clinton Larsen is set for a
return to the hot-seat. Larsen has been coaching Roses United until now, which
is the club owned by the family of Celtic’s new owner Max Tshabalala.

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Mosimane
confirms assistant coach Mokoena appointment. Sundowns` mentor Pitso
Mosimane has backed his new assistant coach Rhulani Mokoena to go far, saying
"he is the future". Mokoena recently joined Manqoba Mngqithi and Alex
'Barnes' Bapela as assistants to Mosimane. Mokoena sat on the bench when the
Brazilians beat University of Pretoria 2-1 in a Telkom Knockout last-16 tie in
Tshwane on Saturday.

Ajax Cape Town defender Ayabulela
Magqwaka looks certain to pull out of the Bafana Bafana squad through injury,
judging by comments from club coach Roger de Sa. Magqwaka, 18, has been
unable to train since straining a calf muscle on Tuesday, with Bafana set to
face Congo in back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on October 11 and
15. "We have advised Bafana that he is injured, he couldn’t train for the
last few days," De Sa said after his team's 3-0 victory over Mpumalanga
Black Aces in the Telkom Knockout on Sunday. De Sa, though, says the decision
on Magqwaka's availability for Bafana ultimately rests with the national side's
medical team.

Mamelodi Sundowns have finally paid
striker Edward Manqele's salary, allowing the player to take care of his
monthly debit orders. Manqele's salary was due last week but was not paid
in time with the rest of the Sundowns players as the saga regarding his exit
from Sundowns continues to drag on. The former Free State Stars striker is
currently kicking his heels at home as the Brazilians claim that he belongs to
Chippa United after they reached a loan agreement before the deadline of the
transfer window period. Manqele has already taken the Patrice Motsepe-owned
side to the PSL Dispute Resolution Chamber for an unpaid signing-on fee. The
player's agent Josiah Mphono has confirmed that Sundowns have finally paid his
client's salary.

Moroka Swallows are
still battling to secure a work visa for their new Brazilian midfielder Thiago
Rodrigo Dos Santos. Dos Santos joined Swallows last month on a three-year
contract. And Dube Birds officials have been hounding Home Affairs in a bid to
secure the player's papers.

Namibian striker Theophilus Tsowaseb is
back home after his proposed move to Chippa United collapsed due to paperwork
issues, according to the club's team manager Peter Koutroulis. Tsowaseb
linked up with the Chilli Boys in July after being deemed surplus to requirements
at Pirates, who he penned a three-year deal with in February following a trial.
However, Koutroulis confirmed the player, affectionately known as 'Ronaldo', is
no longer with the Absa Premiership returnees. Tsowaseb is poised to rejoin his
former Windhoek-based side, also called Orlando Pirates.

It’s looks like Ruzaigh Gamildien will
have to wait a while longer before being allowed back into the AmaZulu first
team. The former Bloemfontein Celtic midfielder was sent to train with the
reserves after being found guilty of ill-discipline together with Bongi Macala,
whose contract was later terminated. AmaZulu spokesperson Philani Mabaso
confirms that Gamildien is still not back with the first team. Meanwhile,
Macala says is not yet ready to talk about his acrimonious departure from
Usuthu.

NFD side Vasco da
Gama are set to become a club that young footballers aspire to join now that
Portuguese top-flight outfit Vitoria de Guimaraes are their European partner.
Vasco has always been a strong, credible community-based club with a sound
youth setup. But the identity of the club is shifting now that they have a link
to a top club in Europe. Vasco’s partnership with the Portuguese club will see
coaching education filter through from Vitoria de Guimaraes to the Parow Park
club, which will result in stronger coaching networks, opportunities for
players to train abroad and for a sharing of knowledge and technical expertise.
Vasco are now under the ownership of the TMM Group, whose CEO Mario Ferreira is
a shareholder at Vitoria de Guimaraes and is passionate about giving back to
the community and moving patiently into the top-flight of South African
football. Since TMM Holdings (PTY) Ltd became the majority shareholder of Vasco
da Gama, only brothers Carlos, Paulo and Mario Das Neves stayed on as
shareholders from the previous board of directors. The rest of the previous
Vasco shareholders will no longer be involved with the club in any official
capacity. For now, the current Vasco technical team of Tony de Nobrega, Keenin
Lesch and Kenny Gertse have remained leading the first team.

Former Ajax Cape Town coach Muhsin
Ertugral is ready to return to work after attending to some family matters back
home in Turkey. Ertugral resigned from Ajax after one of his family members
passed away earlier this year. The former Kaizer Chiefs coach is now free to
start looking for a new job and is expected back in the country before the end
of this month. Ertugral was earlier linked with the job at SuperSport United
only to discover that he was duped by someone masquerading as club chairman
Khulu Sibiya.

Orlando Pirates captain Lucky Lekgwathi’s return to action
has been pushed back even further. The veteran defender last
featured for the Buccaneers in the 2013/14 season as he battled his way back
from a foot injury. However, Lekgwathi was struck down with flu, meaning he was
unlikely to feature in the Telkom Knockout Cup victory over Polokwane City on
Sunday.

Reports in Ghana
suggest that former Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Fatau Dauda has completed his
move back to AshantiGold. The 29-year-old Ghanaian international has penned
a short-term deal after leaving Chippa United, who him left after less than two
months at the club.Chippa said that
Dauda left because of major personal problems, though the player’s agent said
that his client left because he was not paid his signing-on fee.

SA players abroad
Steven Pienaar lasted 64 minutes of his comeback game for Everton as they
lost 2-1 at Manchester United in the English Premiership yesterday. It was a
first outing for ‘Schillo’ in six weeks and his return comes slightly ahead of
schedule with Everton only expecting him to return later in October. It could
not come soon enough for The Toffees though as they battle on the home front
and in Europe with a small squad of players.

There was a boost for national team coach Shakes Mashaba
when striker Tokelo Rantie was able
to take his place on the bench, but did not get on, for Bournemouth in their
2-1 Championship win at Bolton Wanderers. The striker picked up a knock while
on national team duty in the September African Nations Cup qualifiers and had
barely featured since, but did score four goals in a game for the club’s
development side a week ago.

There was still no sign of Kagisho Dikgacoi for Cardiff City though as his move away from
Crystal Palace at the end of last season looks more foolish with each passing
week.

Furman, who is
likely to play a major role in the Congo double-header coming up for Bafana,
played the full game for Doncaster Rovers in League One as they won 2-1 at
Scunthorpe United.

Serero and Kamohelo Mokotjo were both in action in
the Netherlands, but had to settle for draws. Ajax were held 0-0 by PEC Zwolle,
while Mokotjo’s FC Twente drew 2-2 with AZ Alkmaar.

Jali played the
full game for his Belgian side Oostende as they suffered an early red card and
played most of the game with 10 men, losing 3-1 at Ayanda Patosi’s Lokeren. Patosi was again left out of the
Lokeren squad for that game, but Anele
Ngcongca played for Genk in their 0-0 draw at Anderlecht.

Darren Keet, who
will also be linking up with the national team, kept a clean sheet again as his
Belgian side Kortrijk won 2-0 at Charleroi.

Mark Mayambela,
who has been influential off the bench for Swedish side Djurgarden in recent
weeks, was introduced with 15 minutes remaining but could not help his side
avoid a surprise 2-1 defeat to Sive
Phekezela’s Gefle. Xolani Mdaki
did not make it off the bench for Djurgarden, but Ebrahim Seedat played the final few minutes for his second-tier
side Degerfors in their 3-3 draw with Ljungskile. May Mahlangu started from the bench
as Goteborg lost 3-0 at IFK Norrkoping, ending their hopes of winning the
league this season which has now been claimed by Malmo.Ayanda Nkili came on for the final
few minutes as Orebro thumped Elfsborg 5-1.

Lebogang Phiri
was also a sub for Brondby as they beat Aalborg 2-1 in Denmark, and Joel
Untersee came on at halftime for his side FC Vaduz as they lost 3-0 to FC Zurich
in Switzerland.

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